Whiwe piracy was predominantwy a mawe occupation, a minority of pirates were women, uh-hah-hah-hah.[1] On many ships, women (as weww as young boys) were prohibited by de ship's contract, which aww crew members were reqwired to sign, uh-hah-hah-hah.[2]:303

Because of de resistance to awwowing women on board, many femawe pirates did not identify demsewves as such. Anne Bonny, for exampwe, dressed and acted as a man whiwe on Captain Cawico Jack's ship.[2]:285 She and Mary Read, anoder femawe pirate, are often identified as being uniqwe in dis regard.

This articwe contains a wist of femawe pirates who are recognized by historians, wisted in de time period dey were active.

Sister of Kowwer, king of Norway. Horwendiw (water to be fader of Amwef/Hamwet) was King of Jutwand but gave up de drone to become a pirate. Kowwer "deemed it wouwd be a handsome deed" to kiww de pirate and saiwed to find de pirate fweet. Horwendiw kiwwed Kowwer but had to water kiww Sewa, who was a skiwwed warrior and experienced pirate, to end de war.[3] Recorded in de Gesta Danorum.

Ewdest daughter of Awfred de Great of Engwand. Became de miwitary weader of de Angwo-Saxons after her husband's deaf in battwe against de Danes in 911. Took command of de fweets to rid de seas of de Viking raiders.

Awwied wif de Turkish corsair Barbaros of Awgiers. aw Hurra controwwed de western Mediterranean Sea whiwe Barbaros controwwed de eastern, uh-hah-hah-hah. Awso prefect of Tétouan. In 1515 she became de wast person in Iswamic history to wegitimatewy howd de titwe of "aw Hurra" or Queen fowwowing de deaf of her husband who ruwed Tétouan, uh-hah-hah-hah. She water married de King of Morocco, Ahmed aw-Wattasi, but refused to weave Tétouan to do so. This marriage is de onwy time in Moroccan history a King has married away from de capitaw Fez.[4][5]*aw Hurra is awso de name of an American Arab wanguage pirate radio station used as a counter to aw Jazeera.

Mary was de daughter of a former Suffowk pirate. Mary's husband Sir Henry Kiwwigrew, a former pirate himsewf, was made a Vice-Admiraw by Queen Ewizabef I and tasked wif suppressing piracy. Whenever her husband went to sea, Mary engaged in piracy using de staff of her castwe (Arwenack Castwe in Cornwaww) as crew and possibwy wif de Queen's knowwedge. In 1570, she captured a German merchant ship off Fawmouf and her crew saiwed it to Irewand to seww. However, de owner of dis ship was a friend of Queen Ewizabef, who den had Lady Mary arrested and brought to triaw at de Launceston assizes. Some sources say she was sentenced to deaf and den pardoned by de Queen, but dis is due to confusion wif anoder famiwy member. According to sources, her famiwy eider bribed de jurors and she was acqwitted, or Queen Ewizabef arranged a short jaiw sentence. Whatever transpired, she gave up piracy and took up fencing stowen goods untiw she died severaw years water.[6]

Ewizabef and her husband Sir John wived in Pendennis Castwe in Fawmouf Harbour. In earwy 1581 a Spanish ship, de Marie of San Sebastian was bwown down Channew by a storm and was forced, dismasted, to take refuge in Fawmouf harbour. Lady Ewizabef wed an attack on de ship and den fenced de proceeds. Lady Ewizabef was water arrested and sentenced to deaf but pardoned. Her husband Sir John was ordered by de Privy Counciw to restore de vessew and goods to deir owners but went into hiding awong wif de ship which resuwted in severaw warrants for his arrest being issued for acts of piracy committed over de next eight years.[7]

Caribbean pirate and water based in Mississippi after Tortuga was cwosed down, uh-hah-hah-hah. Dieu-Le-Veut was a nickname meaning "God wiwws it" and given to her as it seemed anyding she wanted God gave her. Married to a pirate, Anne chawwenged pirate Laurens de Graaf to a duew after he kiwwed her husband in 1683. He refused and she became his common waw wife, fighting by his side and sharing command.

During de Gowden Age of Piracy, many men had to weave home to find empwoyment or set saiw for economic reasons.[2]:283 This weft women wif de responsibiwities of taking on traditionawwy mawe rowes and fiwwing de jobs dat were weft behind. The need for women to fiww dese rowes wed dem to be granted rights dat had historicawwy been excwusive to men, uh-hah-hah-hah. Women were awwowed to trade, own ships, and work as retaiwers. Often dey were innkeepers or ran awehouses. In some seaside towns, waws were even written to awwow widows to keep deir husbands' responsibiwities and property. This was important to wocaw economies, as awehouses and oder such estabwishments were centers of commerce, where pirates wouwd congregate and trade wif each oder and wif de peopwe onshore.

As heads of dese estabwishments, women had a considerabwe amount of freedom in business. They boarded and fed pirates, bought iwwegawwy pirated goods, acted as pawnbrokers for pirates, and even gave out woans - someding many men, wet awone women, viewed wif great caution in dat time period.[2]:284 At times, femawe business owners wouwd even hide deir cwients when audorities came wooking to arrest dem for piracy.

Mary Read (1690-1721) Engraving from Generaw History of de Pyrates 1725

Some women chose to marry pirates. These men were often very weawdy, but deir wives tended not to gain weawf as a resuwt of deir marriages, as it was difficuwt for pirates to send home wages and booty earned overseas. These women's houses and estabwishments were often used as safe havens for pirates, who were considered enemies of aww nations.[2]:289–290

Women sometimes became pirates demsewves, dough dey tended to have to disguise demsewves as men in order to do so. Pirates did not awwow women onto deir ships very often, uh-hah-hah-hah. Many women of de time were unabwe to perform de physicawwy demanding tasks reqwired of de crew. Additionawwy, women were often regarded as bad wuck among pirates[citation needed]. It was feared dat de mawe members of de crew wouwd argue and fight over de women, uh-hah-hah-hah. On many ships, women (as weww as young boys) were prohibited by de ship's contract, which aww crew members were reqwired to sign, uh-hah-hah-hah.[2]:303

Because of de resistance to awwowing women on board, many femawe pirates did not identify demsewves as such. Anne Bonny, for exampwe, dressed and acted as a man whiwe on Captain Cawico Jack's ship.[2]:285 She and Mary Read, anoder femawe pirate, are often identified as being uniqwe in dis regard. However, many women dressed as men during de Gowden Age of Piracy, in an effort to take advantage of de many rights, priviweges, and freedoms dat were excwusive to men, uh-hah-hah-hah.

Caribbean pirate. Married to pirate James Bonny, had an affair wif pirate John "Cawico Jack" Rackham, and water joined his crew. Discovered anoder crew member Mark Read was secretwy a woman (Mary Read) and de two became very cwose.

Caribbean pirate. As a man, Mary went to sea and water joined de British army, fighting in de War Of The Spanish Succession. Mary married and settwed down as a woman but returned to mawe dress fowwowing de deaf of her husband, water boarding a ship bound for de West Indies. Captured by "Cawico" Jack Rackham, Mary joined his crew. In 1721, she died in prison, uh-hah-hah-hah.

In 1725, Mary Harvey and her husband Thomas were transported to de Province of Carowina as fewons. In 1726, Mary and dree men were tried for piracy. Two of de men were hanged (deir weader John Vidaw was convicted and water pardoned) but Mary was reweased. Her husband Thomas was never caught.

Married George Waww, a former privateer who served in de Revowutionary War, when she was sixteen years owd. Operated on de New Engwand Coast. Thought to be de first American femawe pirate. In 1782, George and de rest of his crew were drowned in a storm. She was accused of robbery in 1789 and confessed to being a pirate. She was convicted and sentenced to deaf by hanging.

She was a prostitute who married a pirate and rose to prominence after his deaf. Regarded as one of de most powerfuw pirates in human history, she commanded her husband's fweet after his deaf. Whiwe de fweet she inherited was awready warge, she furder increased de number of ships and crew. At its height, her fweet was composed of more dan 1,500 ships and 80,000 saiwors. She controwwed much of de waters of de Souf China Sea. After years of piracy during which British, Chinese and Portuguese navies couwd not defeat her, China offered her peace in 1810 and she was abwe to retire and married de second in command.[10]

Widewy considered to be de first Austrawian femawe pirate. The ship Venus, due to a shortage of man-power, took on convicts incwuding Badger and Hagerty as crew whiwe in Austrawia. After docking at Port Dawrympwe, Tasmania, de Captain went ashore and de crew seized de ship, saiwing for New Zeawand. Hagerty awong wif two oder convicts, a woman named Charwotte Edgar and a chiwd were put ashore at de Bay of Iswands wif a suppwy of stores. Hagerty died shortwy dereafter. The two men were arrested for piracy and Edgar remained to become one of de first settwers in New Zeawand. Badger was never seen again, uh-hah-hah-hah.[11]

Fowwowing a dispute wif investors over his schoonerThe Three Sisters, Edward Jordan was on his way to Hawifax to sort it out. Wrongwy assuming his famiwy was being sent to debtors' prison, he kiwwed two crewman den drew de Captain overboard before commandeering de vessew wif de hewp of de remaining crewman, uh-hah-hah-hah. The marooned Captain survived and testified against Jordan cwaiming Margaret, who was aboard wif her son and dree young daughters, was awso invowved. Margaret admitted hitting de Captain after he had hit her husband during an argument in her cabin before he decided to commandeer de vessew; de oder crew member testified she was actuawwy in fear for her wife from her viowent husband and had attempted to escape. Bof Margaret and Edward were hanged for piracy.[12]

Sweden's wast pirate; in 1823, recentwy widowed Hård, a farm owner on Vrångö Iswand, was arrested awong wif her farmhand Anders Andersson, farmer Christen Andersson, and one of Christen's farmhands Carw Börjesson and boatman Johan Andersson Fwatås of Göteborg for piracy after de Danish ship Frau Mette was found beached and pwundered wif a murdered crew. Evidence was presented dat de five had fowwowed de Frau Mette on Fwatås fishing vessew de Styrsö and reqwested water. After boarding her dey kiwwed de crew. Johan Andersson Fwatås, Anders Andersson, and Christen Andersson were sentenced to deaf and beheaded. Carw Börjesson was imprisoned in Karwstens fortress where he died 1853. The evidence against Johanna Hård was insufficient and she was reweased and subseqwentwy disappeared.[13][14][15]

Took command of 64 ships after her husband’s deaf in 1921. Youdfuw and reported to be pretty, she gained de reputation of being de most rudwess of aww China's pirates. Lo Hon-cho's fweet attacked viwwages and fishing fweets in de seas around Beihai taking young women as prisoners and water sewwing dem into swavery. In 1922 a Chinese warship intercepted de fweet destroying 40 vessews. Despite escaping, Lo Hon-cho was water handed to audorities by de remaining pirates in exchange for cwemency.[16]